Box corner construction



Feb. 21, 1939. 1 A. SHOEMAKER BOX CORNER CONSTRUCTION original Filed oct. 5, 193s 0H o' o GIMP!A 3 5 734;-

W ll

Patented Feb. 21, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Original application October 5, 1936, Serial No. 103,979. Divided and this application August 5, 1937, Serial No. 157,477

4 claims.

This invention relates to chick boxes of the kind in which the body of the box is made from a single blank having interlocking flaps to provide a serviceable corner construction for each of the tour corners of the box body.

This is a division of application Serial No. 103,979, filed October 5, 1936, by Louis A. Shoemaker for Chick box.

Generally stated, the object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved construction and arrangement whereby each of the four corners of the box is provided with at portions that extend through slots in each of the two opposite side walls of the box, and which also together with tongues on the side wall project through slots in each of the two end walls of the box, in an effective manner, whereby to insure strength and rigidity and a greater degree of safety for the corner construction of the box body.

-It is also an object to provide certain details and features of construction and combinations tending to increase the general eiciency and desirability of a box corner construction of this particular character.

To the foregoing and other useful ends, the invention consists in matters hereinafter set forth and claimed and shown in the accompanying drawing, in which- Fig. 1 is a perspective of a box body having a corner construction embodying the principles of the invention.

Figs. 2, 3 and 4 are detail or fragmentary views of said corner construction, on a larger scale.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the single blank from which the box body is formed.

As thus illustrated, the invention comprises a blank having a bottom wall section I, end wall sections 2 and 2, and side wall sections 3 and 3, all ilexibly connected together at the fold lines 4 and 5, shown in Fig. 5 oi the drawing. The ends of the sections 2 have aps 6 that are formed for insertion through the vertical slots 9 in the side Walls 3 of the box body, as shown in Figs. l, 2, 3 and 4 of the drawing.

Inaddition, the sections 2 and 2 have slots 8 through which the ends of the flaps 6 extend, when the blank is fully folded into box form.

Also, the ends of the sections 3 have engaging.

portions 1 that extend through the slots 8, so that each 'slot 8 contains a double thickness, projecting therethrough, as shown more clearly in Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawing.

Preferably, as shown, the base of each flap 6 is of the same width as the section 2, so that it is flush at top and bottom with the box body.

The tongue 'l is a stiff tongue in the sense that it does not need to be flexed or bent in order to insert it outwardly through the slot 8, but the tongue 6 is a flexible tongue because it must be flexed to insert it inwardly through the slot 9, and must be flexed again" to insert it in the slot 8, as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawing. As shown at I0, this tongue 6 is creased or scored to enable it to buckle as shown in dotted lines in said Fig. 3, forthe insertion of this tongue through the slot 8, after the tongue 1 has already been inserted therein, for the tongue l must be in this slot 8 before the tongue 6 can be bent to insert it through the slot 9, as is clearly evident from -what is shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 of the drawing. The flaps Il, it will be seen, desirably have top and bottom edges which are flush with the upper and lower edges of the side Walls 3 of the box.

Furthermore, one advantage and purpose of the said stiff tongue is to provide protection for the said flexible tongue, in the same slot, in a manner which tends to prevent the flexible tongue from being dislocated and pushed back into the interior of the box, should the latter be too tightly stacked against other boxes, or should it be bumped on the corner. Again, this stiff tongue has the further advantage of preventing the flexible tongue from buckling to any serious extent, after the two tongues are assembled side by side in the said single slot. Therefore, without this stiff tongue, this corner construction shown and described would not be very satisfactory, for without the stii tongue the slightest mishandling would tend to make the corner construction come apart, as there would be nothing to hold the flexible tongue from buckling and causing a collapse of the corner construction. Moreover, when this corner construction is assembled, the said stii tongue keeps the said iiexible tongue parallel with the side wall, because snugly assembled through the slot in the corner, and hence as long as the flexible tongue is kept in this parallel position it cannot buckle at the score line thereon. The st-ii tongue, in other Words, practically takes the brunt of any bumping or mishandling, and protects the exble tongue against dislocation from the holding slot.

In this way, it will be seen that a very strong and stiii and serviceable corner construction is provided at each corner of the box body, so that greater safety against accidental opening at the corners of the box is insured.

What I claim as my invention is:

l. A corner construction for a rectangular box body having sides interlocking at the corner of the body, comprising the combination of a flap on the end of one side overlapping the outer surface of the other side, a flexible tongue integral with said ap, a stiff tongue on the end of the other side, a vertical slot in said other side, said exible tongue extending inwardly through said slot, and a vertical slot in said one side through which both tongues project outwardly, providing a direct interlocking engagement between the two walls at their adjacent ends, and the insertion of said flexible tongue in said last mentioned slot serving to hold the necessarily already inserted stii tongue tightly therein, so that the two tongues co- LOUIS A. SHOEMAKER. 

